Global News (02/20/09)

– Czech leader attacks EU(Independent):The Czech Republic President said the EU was undemocratic, elitist and reminiscent of Soviet-era Communist dictatorships in an attack which provoked an angry response from EU legislators.

– Gold rises over $1000 on haven buying (Reuters):NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Gold rose above $1,000 an ounce on Friday for the first time since March last year as nervous investors piled into the yellow metal to preserve wealth amid a tumbling stock market.

– Iran has enough uranium ‘to build a nuclear bomb’(Telegraph):
(Iran’s uranium is enriched at 3%, for a nuclear weapon Iran needs 95% enriched uranium. Still a looong way to go. I just saw a documentary (aired by a big German TV station) that for only $ 5 million you can get a suitcase nuke. Besides everything that Iran does is “perfectly legal” says Ron Paul.)

– Official: Pentagon report says Gitmo is humane (AP):WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says the Guantanamo Bay prison meets the standard for humane treatment laid out in the Geneva Conventions, according to a report for President Barack Obama, who has ordered the terrorist detention center closed within a year.

– AP IMPACT: Jobless Hit With Bank Fees on Benefits (ABC News):First, Arthur Santa-Maria called Bank of America to ask how to check the balance of his new unemployment benefits debit card. The bank charged him 50 cents. He chose not to complain. That would have cost another 50 cents. So he took out some of the money and then decided to pull out the rest. But that made two withdrawals on the same day, and that was $1.50.

– US bank stocks fall to 17-year low(Financial Times):
US banking shares hit their lowest level since 1992 on Thursday as fears mounted that the government would be forced to nationalise a key institution.

– Qantas Rating Cut to Baa2 at Moody’s on Travel Plunge (Bloomberg):Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) — Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s largest carrier, had its credit rating cut for the first time in more than 15 years by Moody’s Investors Service as the global recession hammers demand for air travel.

– Newly Poor Swell Lines at Food Banks (New York Times):
MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Once a crutch for the most needy, food pantries have responded to the deepening recession by opening their doors to what Rosemary Gilmartin, who runs the Interfaith Food Pantry here, described as “the next layer of people” — a rapidly expanding roster of child-care workers, nurse’s aides, real estate agents and secretaries facing a financial crisis for the first time.

– Japan turns to ‘work-sharing’ to avoid layoffs (AP):
Work-sharing is the latest buzzword in Japan Inc. Proponents say it’s a good way to avoid American-style layoffs in a society that has long fostered lifetime employment. Toyota Motor Corp., Mazda Motor Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Fujitsu Inc., have all taken up some kind of work-sharing. Nissan Motor Co. and others are considering it.

– Obama Picks Bilderberger for Health Secretary (Prison Planet):
Obama has picked a Bilderberger to be his choice for health secretary — Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Obama initially picked former Senate Democrat leader Tom Daschle for the position, but Daschle “withdrew because of personal tax issues,” in other words he didn’t bother to pay any taxes because minions of the elite are not required to do so, except for public relations reasons. (Obama has also given 10 key positions to members of the Trilateral Commission. Obama is a New World Order puppet.)

– Sun-powered device converts CO2 into fuel (New Scientist):Powered only by natural sunlight, an array of nanotubes is able to convert a mixture of carbon dioxide and water vapour into natural gas at unprecedented rates.